India likely to play maiden day-night Test in Australia next year
What's the story?
If things go according to plan, India could finally make their day-night Test debut during their tour of Australia next year. Furthering their inclination to host floodlit Tests every summer, Cricket Australia's (CA) chief executive James Sutherland expects the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to agree to their proposal of playing a Test match under lights in Adelaide.
"I would anticipate there's not going to be too much problem there. As we've discussed at ICC level, it's very much in the hands of the home country to make judgments on what they think is best. Certainly, it's pretty well telegraphed that from our perspective we'd be playing at least one day-night Test match every summer", Sutherland told ABC Radio.
He added, "Certainly India, we would expect to draw a bigger crowd (than Sri Lanka). That will be the first four Tests of the summer. It's not all about that, it's also about how it fits, there's considerations like weather in different parts of the country at different times of the year. They're all the things we need to balance and make a call on over the course of the next few weeks before announcing that final schedule."
In the past...
During the summer of 2015, Adelaide Oval became the first venue to host day-night Test cricket. Australia and New Zealand squared off against each other under lights with the pink ball.
The heart of the matter
Since the innovative concept's inception, a total of seven day-night Tests (including the ongoing contest between Australia and England) have been played thus far. From the ten Test playing nations (excluding latest entrants Ireland and Afghanistan), only India, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are yet to embrace the pink-ball challenge.
Even though they have trialled the pink-ball concept in their domestic circuit, BCCI have shown considerable reluctance to adopt the same at international level. However, given the format's recent popularity with the fans, Sutherland affirmed that India are likely to play their maiden day-night Test next summer.
What's next?
Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney will host India for the 2018/19 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Sri Lanka are set to follow suit for a two-match Test series in Canberra and Brisbane.
Author's take
Considering the fact that almost all leading teams have played day-night Test cricket, it is high time India enter the pink-ball bandwagon. Aside from agreeing to CA's proposal, BCCI must also ensure that Virat Kohli's troops get the necessary preparation before they line up at the Adelaide Oval for their inaugural floodlit Test next year.